For many there is a moment in every meaningful journey when frustration comes in like a fog, heavy, hazy, and disorienting. You work! You study! You read! You grow! You pour yourself into improvement with sincerity and discipline. Yet somehow, the results seem slow, and painfully slow.
But hear this from me, gently and very clearly: This too shall pass.
The difficult season, especially when you know you are doing things rightly, is not permanent. But the seasons you endure the longest are most likely to become the ones that shape you the most. When success feels distant, you are not failing, you are forming, if you allow yourself. You are being stretched, strengthened, sharpened, and prepared for the next level you can not yet see.
To grow, you must keep moving, especially when your progress feels invisible, do not stop, keep moving!
The Illusion of Little Progress: Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox
Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox is the philosophical argument that states that an infinite number of things cannot be performed in a finite amount of time. The paradox is based on the idea that if you are in the middle of a room and want to get to the door, you must first walk halfway to the door, then halfway from the point where you previously stopped. You need to keep repeating this until you reach the door, but you will never actually reach the door because, with each motion, you only cover half the distance of the previous steps.
Zenos-dichotomy Paradox
Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox paints a picture that mirrors the emotional struggle of slow progress. It says that if you want to move from the middle of a room to the door, you must first walk halfway to the door. Then half of the remaining half; then half of that half.
According to the paradox, you will never reach the door because each step only covers half the remaining distance. But in real life, you do reach the door.
You reach it because you keep walking, because reality, unlike the paradox, is not bound to theoretical limits. And neither is your success.
Your journey can many times feel like Zeno’s paradox:
- You study, but mastery feels far.
- You work hard, but progress is slow.
- You invest in yourself, but transformation takes time.
- You dream big, but results seem delayed.
It feels like you are always halfway there, never arriving, but that is not true. With every book you read, every idea you pen down, every hour you commit to your craft, every habit you reinforce, every discipline you hold onto, you are moving closer.
Invisible progress is still progress, and imperceptible growth is still growth.
The paradox is only a metaphor. Your life is real! Your steps matter! And the door is not just reachable, you are already closer than you think.
A common approach to self-improvement involves setting a big goal and then trying to take huge leaps to achieve it in the shortest time possible. Although this sounds great in theory, it can often lead to burnout, frustration, or failure. Instead, we should be focusing on continuous improvement and slowly but surely changing our everyday habits and behaviors.
Continuous improvement refers to the commitment to make small changes and improvements each day with the expectation that these small improvements will lead to something more.
Continue Reading: The Compounding Effect: The Power of Small Incremental Improvements
Keep Doing Your Best On the Right Path
People who never feel frustrated usually are not aiming high. Frustration is not a strange thing, and many times it means:
- You care.
- You are reaching beyond your comfort zone.
- You are growing faster than your environment changes.
- You are pushing toward a future version of yourself.
In our journey toward success, frustration is not a stop sign; it is a signal. It tells us that something within us knows we can be more. It whispers that the work we are doing is meaningful, even if the evidence has not caught up yet.
Remember: Greatness takes time, but delay is not denial.
Every achiever, every author, thinker, builder, creator, leader, has lived through seasons where nothing moved. The world looked quiet. The progress was hidden. The results were nowhere in sight.
But underground, the roots were strengthening. Beneath the surface, change was happening. And within the heart, character was being formed.
What feels stagnant is many times necessary. Without that season, you would not have the endurance for the next.
This too shall pass, not because things will magically improve, but because your consistency will eventually break through.
Just as frustration is temporary, so are:
- slow beginnings
- delayed rewards
- invisible progress
- quiet seasons
- long waiting periods
- moments of doubt
It will not last forever if you are giving and doing your best, not the hardship, not the uncertainty, and certainly not delay, and yes, not even the struggle you feel right now.
Keep Showing Up; The Success is in the Continuation
Read! Learn! Work wisely! Work diligently! Pray! Reflect! Improve!
Keep showing up to the things that are shaping you, because every minute is invested in growth compounds, even when you can not see the interest yet.
The people who succeed are not always the fastest or even the most gifted; they are the ones who continue, especially when progress feels invisible.
They understand that results sometimes come late, but rewards come surely. They embrace the seasons of uncertainty because they know that what feels distant today will arrive tomorrow.
Because life has a rhythm: Tough times come; then they pass. Slow seasons linger; then they pass. Delayed results test you; then they pass.
And when they pass, you will be stronger, wiser, and further along than you ever imagined.
I don’t think there is anyone that does not love the idea of success, irrespective of our individual definition of what success is or might be. Most people just admire the highlight reels, the big wins, the stories of people who seem to have “made it.” But what we rarely see is the grind, the quiet, often unglamorous act of simply showing up, day after day, even when the feelings are not there.
My dearest reader, the truth is this, motivation is fleeting or can be, it comes and goes. Some mornings you wake up ready to conquer the world; other times, you would rather hide under the covers. But you see, success does not come to those who wait for motivation; it comes to those who show up regardless of how they feel. And so one of the most underrated skills in life is not talent, intelligence, or even passion; it is the simple or rather not so simple disciplined act to keep showing up, and this is precisely why motivation fails and consistency wins.
Continue Reading: Keep Showing Up: The Most Underrated Skill for Success in Life
Read Also: How To Deal With Frustration On Your Journey To Success
Read Also: The Call to Engage: Why Good People Can’t Abandon a Broken System
Read Also: Beyond Either/Or: Escaping the Trap of the False Dilemma (False Dichotomy)
Conclusion
You will reach the door!
You will break through!
You will see results!
You will taste the fruit of your consistency!
Not all at once.
Not as fast as you want.
But surely, steadily, and beautifully.
Because you kept going.
Because you kept believing.
Because you understood that success does not require readiness; it requires movement.
So take the next step, even if it is half the last one.
Take the next step, even if your progress feels small.
Take the next step, because small steps compound into unstoppable momentum.
And no matter where you are or what you are fighting through today, remember this eternal truth: This too shall pass! Keep going! Your breakthrough is closer than it feels!
